Testlab

Pull the radio out of the mount and check the aerial cable is attached properly. Then follow the cable back to the aerial making sure it isn't kinked, cut or damaged. Next remove the antenna from its base and check the cable goes in to the whip part properly and isn't broken or damaged.

Just a quick note to those thinking of heading to the Hawkesbury this weekend. The ramp at DeRubbins will be closed off from Saturday night until Sunday afternoon for the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic. There will be 370 canoes and kayaks coming down the river from Windsor to Mooney Mooney from 4pm Saturday until around 12 midday Sunday. The lower reaches of the river will be very busy from 0300 onwards. If you are heading out to fish the river on Sat night and early Sun morning be extremely careful. There is a safety network operated by Marine Rescue Hawkesbury so if want to know any details call 02 9985-9012 or call them on Ch 16 or 27.880

Yes, parallel with the hull and submerged.

150N of floatation should be fine.

Tried to PM you but getting a message that the server has not activated Tapatalk. How does that song go? "Arizona.... Where the winds come sweeping down the plains" (actually that should be Oklahoma but you'll get the idea).

The rule of thumb for wind and swell is you get 1m of swell for every 10kts of wind, where the wind has been been blowing across the ocean for quite some distance. So a 20kt sou'easter will bring up a 2m SE swell. On top of the swell you get the "sea" which is the effect of the local wind. So a 1m swell with a 0.5m sea means 1.5m. This is called the combined sea state. Whenever you read a weather report containing wave heights it is important to remember these are an average, be prepared to meet waves up to twice that height !!!!!!!! This is why you must know your vessel limits because you may be able to handle 1m seas peaking at 2m but can you survive 2m seas peaking at 4m. How often does this happen? All the time !!!! This is what led to the total loss of a 6.0m long vessel off Long Reef last year in seas around 1.5m when they were suddenly confronted with a set of four 4m waves that went straight over the nose green and filled it completely. The vessel rolled over in less than 20 secs, and this was a 2C commercially built vessel. So how can you tell what is safe? Local knowledge goes a long way. Know the area you are going and don't just rely on forecasts. I am from the Central Coast too and regularly venture off shore and throughout the Hawkesbury, up to Port Stephens and down to Sydney. One of the worst places to be caught is in Broken Bay, on a runout tide, with a NE-SE swell and the 20kt summer NE that comes up most afternoons. The waves are fast, short in period and steep on the approaching face. There are also reflections from Barrenjoey, West Head and Lion Island. With a 1m swell it's uncomfortable in a 5m boat, above 1.5m it's "interesting" and damn scary when the bigger sets roll in. Coming back in around Box Head from the north can get very uncomfortable when the swell and tide are conducive to bouncing waves back off the SE facing headlands when the swell is from the S around to ENE. These seas can suddenly leap up in front of you at twice the height of those nearby. In a southerly blow it becomes treacherous so plan to be home at least 2 hours before the predicted arrival of a southerly change. If you can see tall, wide spread clouds in the distance tothe south then watch them carefully. If you see them move toward you or they grow bigger in say 10 mins then pack it up and get home. A southerly storm front 20 miles away (say in Sydney) and you're 2nm off third point will be on you in around 45 mins and as little as 30 mins. At 20 kts it will take you 30 mins to get back inside and around half tide rocks assuming a 1m sea and an average boat. How your boat handles the conditions depends on its size, type and especially loading and weight distribution. Be conservative. When making a go/no-go decision check the forecasts and use every tool available. Check the tides and the tide heights to work out if you can get back across bars or if the speed of the tide will be worsening the prevailing wind waves and swell. Look at the wind-wave forecast interactive maps on the BOM website. Be conservative and leave early to make the run home. A wind blowing from the west will soften a swell coming from the east but the chop may be unpleasant on the return journey. An easterly wind on an easterly swell and a run out tide will mean bigger steeper waves and when running to the west (coming home) you have to be careful not to dive over the front of the steepest waves. In general, head out early as conditions will be calmer most days. Come home early if heading outside and spend a few hours on enclosed waters to round out the day or go home for a beer and a feed. Finally, call Marine Rescue Sydney on VHF 16 (or VHF 22 or VHF 81 if they don't answer/hear you on 16) with your trip details. If you only have 27MHz then call on Ch 88 (27.880MHz) but VHF will give you much better coverage. Don't forget to log off afterwards and if you think you may wind up in trouble call for help THEN not when you're 5 mins from piling up on the rocks or just about to sink. Hope this helps.

Sounds like the transducer has been dropped and needs replacing. To test it, cable tie it to a stick that lets you raise and lower it at different places around the transom. If you never get a decent reading then I think the transducer is shot. Try and borrow one as I am not sure this is your problem but I had this happen with an HDS10.

Other than buying another motor, I am outa ideas. . Good luck.

You really cleaned that carby thoroughly or you just gave it a rinse and a shake? OK... Let's look elsewhere. I don't think it's the stator coils and let's not go there yet. Instead let's KISS it and check the wiring that comes from under the flywheel, running into the harness that goes to the remote key switch. Check the wiring hasn't cracked and intermittently shorting to the engine. There is also a connector going to the coils on top of the cylinders. Check it isn't dirty, wet or the wiring insulation cracked. Where are you?

If the sea state is such that you are broaching or broken down and need to ride it out, then learn how to use a drogue properly. It's the tool for the job.

Brendan I have one of those 1982 35HP Evinrudes on the back of my old Savage Avalon. it coughs and cuts when cold and thats normal. Recently I had a lot of trouble with it running erratically. Turned out to be the old fuel hose from tank to engine. The damn thing wasn't very old, maybe 30 years, maybe a bit less, but it was so stiff it was letting air into the union where it connected to the engine. Don't rule out a fuel issue so quickly. 1. You could have an obstructed fuel screen - Starboard side, undo the knurled knob where the fuel hoses are and lift off the cover. Clean screen inspect gasket surface and refit. Check all the internal fuel hoses for cracks and missing clamps or broken cable ties (used instead of clamps). 2. Because it runs and only misses every few second, not constantly, I suspect fuel issues and not ignition. The carby is dead simple to pull down, clean and reassemble. If its been sitting for a long while then you could have a sticky float valve that isn't opening enough to fill the carby bowl. Check bowl for sediment or gunk. Clean everything with a good quality carby cleaner. 3. The main jets are easy to remove and clean with a fine wire and carby cleaner. Likewise the idle jets are easy to clean out. 4. Replace damaged gaskets. Most dealers or wreckers can get them. 5. After reassembling and installing, screw the low speed idle screw in until it just seats, the back it out 1.5 turns (this is from memory). This jet aids the mixture from idle up to around 2000. Fiddle with it to get the idle right. By the way the idle speed screw is on the port side of the motor where the remote control cable connects. 6. Last of all it could be the fuel pump diaphragm. The fuel screen of point 1 sits on the fuel pump. Remove it, disassemble carefully and look for holes in the diaphragm. Replace with a rebuild kit if necessary. Hope this helps.

Sorry dunc, I was overseas on business but the first guess would have been the regulator (which does have the rectifier diodes built in). Also with charging issues it pays to check for fuses under the cowl first. A lot of the blade type cartridge fuses don't handle vibration and the pounding boats give and they fail mechanically.

Gary, does it run at idle ok when warmed up? Or does it miss occasionally? It could be the low speed mixture adjustment if it has the odd miss or the carbys are out of balance. Unless you're familiar with carby adjustment let someone who knows what they're doing sort it out.

Since you're land based I would suggest trying some different places. For the Hawkesbury jump on the ferry at Brooklyn and get off at one of the wharves along the ferry route. Do the same catching the ferry at Church Point in Pittwater. Other than changing locations the time of day is important too, try an hour before sunrise to an hour after. When I fish from land I find the only really productive time is those early hours unless deeper water is within casting distance.

The repeaters on CHs 21, 22, 81, 82 have made the use of handheld VHF more feasible. However the coverage on CH16 (distress) is not via a repeater and will always rely on having the best possible transmission and reception, which means the best antenna possible and the higher output power of a fixed mount unit. The practical usability of a handheld will depend on where you're going.

Inflatable means lots of things these days. There are kayaks, RIBs, tenders, toys, you name it. Some of the RIBs are awesome sea going machines and some small inflatable tenders are toys. I think you need to give us some idea of what type you mean.

NGK BUZHW-2 is the correct plug but the BUHW-2 is probably OK as you may not need the inductive resistance (the inductive resistance reduces interference that can affect the ignition system or ECU). I think the equivalent Champion is a QL78V. Are I sure it wasn't a QL76V that was in there before?

Try again with fresh fuel and new spark plugs of the type specified, which may not be the type in it. If it doesn't improve it could be anything from a stuck thermostat to idle speed mixture adjustment.

I thought there were always limber holes or transom drains for the exact purpose of checking for ingress.

The reply I posted the other day didn't appear so I'll type it again. The colour of the water in the bucket is really dark and looks much darker than I would expect from a lake. Having had a similar experience with an old Savage where a lot of water came out of a buoyancy chamber unexpectedly (the water was very dark brown) I tracked it to a leaking joint between hull, floor and chamber. The really dark water was caused by gum leaf tannins from my tardiness in cleaning them away. In your case apart from sealing the transducer thread holes I would look at all the internal fittings and make sure they are sealed where they penetrate the floor or could allow water to enter through pockets and storage boxes along the side of the cockpit. Seat bases, cleats, rod holders, tie downs may not have any sealing applied or its failed. Since it was used for skiing check the ski pole mount hasn't fractured (if it's the socket type) or there isn't any cracking around it and the screws are sealed. Pressurising the hull sounds like a good idea and I doubt a vacuum cleaner could generate enough pressure to do any damage but as brickman said don't seal the hose to the hull. I would connect the air source up to your extra drain hole and then see if you feel air leaving the transducer holes to check if they are connected (there might be a stringer that stops water getting to the new drain but doesn't extend full height to the floor). If you've air flowing then do the soapy water test once all the drains and known holes are plugged. Good luck with it.

Sometimes with these it helps to change the depth range manually, then set it back to auto when the numbers stop flashing. Do the same with the gain setting. Also make sure the transducer has not been knocked cock eyed, make sure it is looking down and not at an angle.

The only known natural predator of Leatherjackets is the ball peen hammer.

That might cover damage to the boat itself but it's your motor vehicle insurance you need to check. This is what I mean, see page 22 item 3 of the Club Marine PDS. All boat insurance policies say much the same thing, when the boat is being towed they cover damage to the boat but nothing else (that's covered by the car policy). CLUB MARINE LINK

So now all you have to do is talk to your insurance company and find out if they will cover you. Two years ago when I did the same thing they refused to cover the motor vehicle, the boat and any third party damage when towing an oversize load. The coverage had to be arranged through commercial public liability and commercial carriers insurance. I spoke to all the majors and several brokers and none of them would cover the car or boat while towing as part of a normal policy. The managers i spoke to at GIO and QBE both pointed out to me if I did tow it without informing them of the risk I had failed my duty of disclosure. Note it wasn't just the boat that wasn't insured it was also the tow vehicle too and damage to anything or anyone else. The boats I wound up importing could not be trailered anyway so for me it didn't matter in the end. Maybe now they have a different attitude but check carefully.

Sometimes when the water is cold 100 yards or 100 miles makes no difference. Cold shock and swim failure are just two reasons why boating during winter needs a little more forethought. If someone winds up in the drink they may need immediate assistance even if they are only 2 metres away because they may be unable to do anything to help themselves. Life jackets - even more important in winter.